Christmas in LA

How fun was Christmas this year? Even though we were far away from home and there was none of that magical snow falling, let me tell you it was still a blast!

Our Christmas tree

Both Ryan's fabulous mother, and my friend Kristen explained that this would be our chance to come up with our own traditions, and focus on ourselves as a family. 

This was very true, and very fun.

We put the Christmas tree up on Thanksgiving to kick off the season.

Ryan has a lot of beautiful ornaments that we had to leave behind in Maine, so we purchased some new ornaments.

Ryan picked one in honor of his favorite Christmas movie - A Christmas Story, and I bought him another as a present that I gave to him early.

Ryan's very cool new ornaments.

So Christmas Eve started with a whole lotta appetizers. I made a meat pie for the first time ever, and it was also the first time Ryan had ever had it. We watched Christmas specials like Rudolph, A Christmas Story, Charlie Brown Christmas, Home Alone, and A Christmas Carol.

Earlier in the week we had read  A Christmas Carol. Reading this short story had always been a Christmas tradition of mine, and one of Ryan's too.

We bought special Christmas PJs, which is a tradition of Ryan's Mom :)

All kinds of fun stuff for Christmas Eve

In the morning we had mimosas, and French toast casserole (a recipe I got from Paula Deen on Food Network's website). There was also bacon and sausage, and everything was just wonderful.

Good Morning Mimosas

French Toast Casserole (lotsa cream, lotsa eggs, and a praline topping).

We opened presents. This was our dog Abbey's first Christmas. We don't have children, so spoiling Abbey was extra fun. Don't judge. I know how I may have felt about over-the-top pet lovers before I had one, but she is the third member of our family, and she is fabulous when you need to cuddle, want to nap, or feel sad. She's always taking care of our needs so it's only fair. Plus it's OK for her to be spoiled, she just can't act spoiled.

So at Christmas spoiled Abbey was, and so was Ryan. They were both a lot of fun. We took lots of pictures, but here are a few.

Abbey in her new sweater (not a Christmas present) getting into her stocking

I wish this were a video so you could see this

crazy arm-flailing dance Ryan performed in 

anticipation of opening this present. Very cute.

 And an afternoon nap for Ryan and Abbey, after a strenuous morning of 

present opening, eating and watching more Christmas specials. We had 

  fun.

It's a Wonderful Life - On a Big Screen

Being far away from home during the holiday season is interesting. And it's times like these that Ryan and I look to create some traditions of our own in order to fill those voids. Some of those voids include-

* The lack of pine trees, and branchy old deciduous trees (still firmly planted in the earth and living outside on the streets and in folks' yards), decorated by the city and/or homeowners with lights and ornaments. (Sorry LA, but a string of white lights wrapped around the base of a palm tree is much less satisfying than what New England has to offer).

* The lack of fluffy white snow, or even falling snow during the Christmas season. (I still maintain snow is great from Thanksgiving up until the day after the New Year, after that it can melt and go away until the following year).

* The lack of family, friends, and coworkers, in additon to the lack of general familiarity.

It's a Wonderful Life advertised outside the
Grauman's Chinese Theatre

However, even with all that said LA remains a very cool place and thankfully there are many cool things to do in Hollywood, and I found one such cool thing - It's a Wonderful Life showing at Grauman's Chinese Theatre for a quarter.

It's a Wonderful Life has long been one of my favorite Christmas movies. Not only do I own it, but I've been known to watch it any old time I please, like the middle of summer. (After all, there are powerful messages in this movie that should be remembered and practiced the whole year long).

Last year, at an office Christmas party, I went wild when a coworker wrapped a present in It's a Wonderful Life wrapping paper, but unfortunately the wrapping paper was so cool everyone bought it and I couldn't find it anywhere!

In addition to my love and adoration for the movie, this was also gonna be a fine chance for Ryan and I to finally see the inside of the  Chinese Theatre.

Here's the thing about the Chinese Theatre - there is the old theater (absolutely beautiful) and there is a newer section where they have several screens and show new releases. It's a Wonderful Life was showing in the old theater, which was absolutely stunning.

The older theater is the one most accessible from the street (Hollywood Blvd). The mouth of the theater's entrance is met with the famous cement imprints of many celebrities like Jack Nicholson, Marilyn Monroe, and Shirley Temple.

The forecourt of famous hand and footprints

Shirley Temple's little prints :)

In fact during its construction owner Sid Grauman had commissioned Jean Klossner (the construction foreman) to make this extremely hard card concrete for the forecourt of the theater. Known later as Mr. Footprint, Klossner assisted in the concrete hand and footprint ceremonies from 1927 -1957.



There are several conflicting accounts of how the hand and footprint tradition began, but Klossner's handprint and autograph dated 1927 can still be seen at the theater today.

The outside, as you can see, is very detailed and was designed to replicate a giant, red, Chinese pagoda. There's a gigantic Chinese dragon and Chinese Ming Heavens dogs are at guard at the main enterance.

This facade is both unique and impressive. This also happens to be a fairly "happening" venue. Before this moment Ryan and I had not been able to even walk past the theater. Many movies premier here, it is also located in a highly touristy stretch of Hollywood Boulevard, and the Dolby Theater is nearby, as is the El Capitan Theatre (across the street) and the Roosevelt Hotel (where Robert Kennedy was shot and killed on his 1968 campaign trail).

So we waited outside for the people to begin letting us in to the theater. Ryan had been interviewed by a young man with a video camera. He wanted to know what Ryan thought about the event, and if he thought it was a good thing, and why? The young man interviewed several people in line. I wondered if he was a student somewhere and if this were an assignment. This entire event was part of the theatre's 85th anniversary. To celebrate its birthday the theatre was offering 25 cent tickets to a long list of classic movies like Shanghai Express, Hell's Angels, The King and I, and Breakfast at Tiffany's. It's a Wonderful Life was going to be its last movie shown during this "25 Cent Movie Mondays" event.

Once we were inside - Wow!!! The theatre was large, red, opulent, beautiful. Please note that no pictures will ever do this place justice, but I tried anyway.

A panorama picture of this gorgeous theatre

Let me assure you the movie was magical. I never thought in a million years I would ever have the chance to see this movie in a theater or a theater this magnificent and beautiful. 

There was a nice guy who bought tons of tickets for friends and coworkers, and gave tickets to families that wouldn't have otherwise had the chance to see this movie. The spirit of Christmas was in this theater that night.

Ryan and I scoped out the Christmas decorations in a connected court yard/shopping mall and also took a walk through the lobby of the new Chinese theater located upstairs from the original one.

Here's how all that looked...

The Leow's shopping area - complete with Christmas tree

The entrance, and pictures in the lobby of the Chinese 6 Theatres

This event was a lot of fun. We'd been through the Leow's shopping area/mall before. This is where that fabulous candy store  Sweet's is. 

There's also a Johnny Rocket's. There are a variety of other shops and vendors in the courtyard too.

Upon leaving at the end of the movie there was great applause. 

We visited Jimmy Stewart's wax figure in the lobby of the theatre. It was on loan from Madame Tussaud's Wax Museum.

Then we had some bacon wrapped hotdogs from a vendor on the street and they were delicious.

Mmmmmm, supper :)

Rock Tour with Miss Pamela -The Salacious LA Experience

Searching for the perfect Los Angeles tour can be quite the project. Just a walk down a few blocks of Hollywood Boulevard and you're guaranteed to be approached by more than a handful of folks hoping to fill the seats of their tour buses. Sometimes I think they should recognize me by now and just stop asking, but they're relentless as salesmen often are.

My husband Ryan and I had been promising we would go on a Los Angeles tour, but were skeptical of the tourist-trap, cookie-cutter tours with a minimum wage tour guide droning out the name of each location we descended upon before taking off for the next location as quickly as we had arrived.

We're both huge music fans, and fans of the classic rock era. I, a professed fan of Pamela Des Barres thought it best to go on one of her Rock Tours. And if you're looking for an intimate, more detailed tour of Los Angeles - a tour that comes with some first hand accounts of what it was like to really be there in the thick of the 1960s and 70s, and what it was like to be with the musicians who haunted these streets, played in these clubs, and lived in these homes, then you must be looking for Pamela Des Barres' Rock Tour too.

First we met in front of Amoeba Records on Sunset Boulevard. Ryan and I arrived right on time as Miss Pamela approached with open arms and hugged each of us with either arm. The warm-hearted flower child was wearing a bright red Bob Dylan T-shirt, a crocheted cardigan, a long swaying bohemian skirt, and a pair of cowboy boots. It had only been a week since her writing seminar and the night checking out Dan Janisch at the Cinema Bar so she was a little familiar with us, as we were of her.

There were five of us going on the tour, and then of course there was Miss Pamela, and her friend and driver Kip Brown, who as an added bonus was a wealth of information, kind beyond belief, and a diligent photographer. We began by introducing ourselves to the group as we rode to the first stop on the tour - a venue where Miss Pamela had a memorable encounter with The Doors' front man Jim Morrison.

It's now the site of Nickelodeon, but when she first saw The Doors this building was a club called Hullaballoo. Before that (in the 1950s) it had been a popular night club called Moulin Rouge, and before that (in the late 1930s) it had been the Earl Carroll Theatre.

The Earl Carroll Theatre 

From a section of her novel I'm With the Band Miss Pamela read an excerpt about making out and inhaling the drug Trimar with Jim Morrison during a sound check at the club. After the show they drove around Hollywood and Morrison threw her bottle of Trimar  in some bushes discouraging her from using drugs, then they took off for a night of making out in his hotel room.

This would be her only tryst with the sexy front man. To this day Miss Pamela thanks him for helping her ditch the Trimar, and swears she heard him sing, "Trimar, we can only lose, And our love become a funeral pyre," when he took the stage that night to sing Light My Fire.

Miss Pamela admitted that being a groupie in her time involved a lot more romance and being a groupie was not about having sex per se.

"There was more canoodling, you didn't have to go all the way," Miss Pamela said.

Our tour group posing with Miss Pamela in front of what used to be the Hullaballoo

Across the street Miss Pamela pointed out the Palladium and explained how for a young girl from Reseda, coming to Hollywood was like being in the center of the universe. All the action was in Hollywood and on Sunset Boulevard and she was in the midst of it all.

Next we passed the entrance of what used to be RCA Records. Today it looks like a parking garage connected, and perhaps owned by the Los Angeles Film Academy. This was where Miss Pamela said she first met Mick Jagger and also Waylon Jennings.

What used to be Bido Litos

Not far from this location, around a corner and down an alleyway known as Cosmos Way was where another popular nightclub once thrived - Bido Litos. According to her book, this was where Miss Pamela first saw The Doors perform.

It also happened to be the first time Miss Pamela witnessed Morrison dive into a sea of fans. From her book she wrote, "He just let go of himself and careened into the black hole, knowing the masses would hold him up. HE came to US, like no one had done before, and no one would do again."

Miss Pamela has seen other acts here too, like the Electric Prunes, and Iron Butterfly.

Bido Litos was a basement club that was always filled to capacity.

Next stop - Capitol Records, but on the way we got a glimpse at what used to be the Knickerbocker Hotel, where Elvis had stayed, and where Frances Farmer had a notorious "freak out" incident with the police. Also famous costume designer Irene Lentz-Gibbons jumped from her hotel bathroom window killing herself.

Nearby, Capitol Records stood, and Miss Pamela and Kip both fondly remembered the record collector's swap meets that took place once a month in record label's parking lot.

Then we were off to the Montecito, which just so happens to be across the street from where Ryan and I live. This is where Miss Pamela lived with Don Johnson (yes, of Miami Vice and more recently Django Unchained).

The Montecito as seen from Cherokee Ave

Miss Pamela remains close friends with Johnson and his ex-wife Melanie Griffith.

And as we passed her old digs, Miss Pamela told us a bit about the young Don Johnson. That in addition to his love for acting, Johnson also loved music and was in a band.

Now, not far from the Montecito we were on to our next stop - The Landmark (Motor) Hotel.

This was the site of the bust and break up of The GTO's (Girls Together Outrageously) - a band comprised of groupies and created and backed by Frank Zappa.

After a few of the girls were busted for having heroin (Miss Pamela was not included, and did not do heroin) Zappa postponed the release of their second album indefinitely, and no longer gave them an allowance. Kip pointed out this was also the same hotel where Joplin sadly died of a drug overdose.

The Landmark Motor Hotel 

Miss Pamela admitted she hadn't been a fan of many female musicians, but she had liked Janis Joplin. She mentioned a time she had seen Joplin perform at Whisky A Go-Go. Miss Pamela and her entourage were high on mescaline.

"The stage was orange and purple and Joplin melted into the colors," she remembered.

And this is what was so compelling about the Rock Tour - we were hearing first hand these great stories, personal stories, of a woman who knew this city, knew the people, and knew these bands. In fact she is very much a part of the city's history.

In addition to her experiences Miss Pamela shared her personal photos with us, and welcomed any and all questions. She encouraged us to ask anything at any time as we rode through the history of her life. Along the way she and Kip would point out little extra sites - places where movies had been filmed, and other famous and sometimes infamous sites like where Sal Mineo was fatally stabbed.

We caught a glimpse of Dennis Hopper's old place, and Marilyn Monroe's house too. She stopped us at  the Sunset Marquis - a place where stars like Bruce Springsteen stayed, and where she first met Tiny Tim. We paused in front of the hotel as she read from her book an encounter she had with Tiny Tim.

Tiny Tim

"He was that person," Miss Pamela assured us. She told us his persona in the entertainment world was the exact same person he was in real life, and she read from her book about how Tiny Tim showered, powdered, and redressed frequently during a short visit with fellow GTOs to see him at his Sunset Marquis hotel room.

"He was flabbergasted and scared out of his wits, and, drawing long, shuddering breaths, he peeked at us from between his fingers while we tried to blend into the wallpaper," she read from her book.

After a short game of hockey in his room, the girls were off to a meeting with Frank Zappa, and that is when Miss Pamela said she and her band mates were first "Miss'd."

"...he bid us adieu, kissing us ever-so-lightly on the cheek. 'Good-bye Miss Lucy, Miss Sandra, Miss Sparky, Miss Christine, and Miss Pamela.' We had been titled."

Sunset Marquis

From here we drove through West Hollywood and along the Sunset Strip. Kip pointed out a building that had once been known as Flipper's Roller Disco, but is now WEHO Bistro.

"Prince played there during his underwear days," he laughed. I was immediately smitten.

Along Sunset Boulevard we stopped near the site where Pandora's Box once stood. Miss Pamela said the teen hotspot had been demolished to make way for a three-way turn signal. She read from her book about the night the kids (including herself) gathered in the streets and protested the club's demolition.

Beloved nightclub Pandora's Box before it was demolished

Teens protesting the demise of the club Pandora's Box. Pamela pointed out exactly where the bus was on the street when rowdy teen-agers overtook the bus during the protest.










Although we didn't have the privilege of seeing the actual Pandora's Box we did get to see the Whisky A Go-Go, The Roxy, and The Rainbow, although it wasn't hard to tell that they were all just shadows of the clubs they once were.

We posed for a picture in front of Whisky A Go-Go, arranging ourselves to mimic a Julian Wasser photograph of Miss Pamela with the GTO's and members of the Flying Burrito Brothers - a picture in Miss Pamela's book I'm With the Band. This was a lot of fun!

The original picture in her book.

Our version of the same picture

Lucky for us while stopped outside the Whisky, an employee working a sound check opened the club's doors and welcomed us to have a look around and allowed us to take pictures.

Ryan and I haven't been to the club while it has been opened. We've heard it's not the same as it used to be, but I guess that's the way of all things - ever changing, coming in and out of its own magic. We haven't seen any acts here, but it was something wonderful to walk inside this club completely empty.

From the old red leather booths, and the pictures on the walls it was just so clear the Whisky A Go-Go had stories of its own to tell, and what great stories they would be.

A good many of those stories would surely include Pamela Des Barres.

Outside the club a plaque hangs where the original front entrance/door stood. The plaque pays homage to the clubs' history and to a few of the bands that helped make that history 

possible. 

Pamela expressed her sorrow for the change in times, and the loss of magic the Whisky once had.

Of the Sunset Strip Pamela said, "People keep driving up and down it, praying for something to happen, but it hasn't been happening since the late 80s."

Kip even had a heyday on the strip. His band Shock opened for Billy Idol at the Roxy. You could tell both Kip and Miss Pamela miss the old days, and hoped for a better future for their old stomping grounds, but you could also tell their memories are treasures they are grateful for.

Miss Pamela posing on the stage at Whisky A Go-Go

Theirs is a Sunset Strip my generation will never know, but I still can't help but hope that maybe one day the tides will turn and the strip will boom again, and maybe rock and shake a new generation yet to come.

We cruised by more sites in West Hollywood - saw the Troubadour, the Tropicana, and the location where The Doors recorded LA Woman. 

We visited apartments where Miss Pamela used to live and where she also entertained guests like Jimmy Page, and Waylon Jennings.

"He was way out of my range," she said of Jennings. "He was so dangeous, he was a man!"

Miss Pamela explained that she had become so accustomed to "those androgynous little brits," but Jennings tore her apart.

Next we drove through Laurel Canyon. We saw the site of the log cabin where Frank Zappa lived. The cabin no longer stands, but his home does, and we saw that too. We didn't get to see Chris Hillman's old house, but we did see the foot of the driveway where Gram Parson's had once lived.

Jim Morrison's is the house to the right of the green one -
the one with the scaffolding.

Our last stop was to The Canyon Country Store, and around the corner where Jim Morrison had lived. Miss Pamela read again, this time about hanging out with Morrison after hearing his music coming from his home, then later being shooed away by his jealous girlfriend, also named Pamela.

Miss Pamela reading about Jim Morrison from her book I'm With the Band

We all visited The Canyon Country Store. Ryan and I got some chicken salad that Miss Pamela swore was the best. Turns out she was quite right. 

Ryan & I pose with Miss P in front of the
Canyon Country Store

On the drive back into town we listened to The Hollyberries - a creation of Kip's. The Hollyberries sing delightful Christmas songs in the tradition of surfer music, much like Kip's idols The Beach Boys. 

Miss Pamela even had a spoken word section in one of the songs. The Hollyberries can be found on iTunes, and come highly recommended.

We landed back in front of Amoeba records; the sun had disappeared. Ryan and I  agreed this was a detailed, intimate, wonderful tour that was very much worth the time and money spent. 

Miss Pamela periodically offers her Rock Tours. She has one coming up on January 27th. 

She keeps information on her tours, and writing workshops on her website www.pameladesbarres.com.

Kip Brown and the fabulous Pamela Des Barres pose - tour completed :)

Writing with Miss Pamela - All We Need is Love

Who'd have thought a girl like me, who loves music and writing, would be sitting in one of Pamela Des Barres' writing workshops in her Los Angeles home? This was more than I could have hoped for.

I was excited to see how this workshop would go. Clearly Ms. Des Barres has her writing merit with four books under her belt and countless writing credits in the online and magazine arenas.
What drew me to her (and I'm sure draws many people to her) is the love of music. My love for music is rivaled only by my love to write, and Miss Pamela (as she likes to be called) offers a little of both in her fabulous writing workshops.

A signed print of Miss Pamela, pictured as one of the dolls in Frank Zappa's groupie group The GTO's (Girls Together Outrageously).

The workshop was for two nights, three hours each night. I arrived a little early the first night with a bottle of wine, Christmas cookies, and chips (which were my husband Ryan's contribution, although he wasn't taking part). Miss Pamela's workshops are for ladies only.

Upon arriving there was a very appreciated handwritten sign letting us know that we were at the correct doorstep, and when Miss Pamela opened the door she was gracious and explained how she was making some last minute preparations for us.

Her living room, where the workshops were conducted, was a warm space decorated with a plush leopard print sofa, and a few wicker chairs. Her walls were covered in art, some of it created by her long time friend and Captain Beefheart's cousin, Victor. A picture of Jesus glowed from under her dining room table, and Elvis and James Dean were present in the form of memorabilia everywhere- still dearly loved by this one-time groupie.

Her absolute favorites you ask? They are still Elvis, and James Dean. In fact Miss Pamela still gives writing workshops in James Deans' hometown in Fairmount, IN. She added Mickey Mouse to her list of favorites, and expressed praise and love for the genius that is Bob Dylan.

"He is our bard," she cooed. "Our modern day Shakespeare, he's it. I met with him once. He told me he liked my book. He read it cover to cover,  and he said 'you're a real good writer.'" She places both hands to her heart. "'OK I can die know,' I thought."

We laughed and admitted this was an awesome compliment. Bob Dylan remains top on Miss Pamela's list of dream men.

And this is pretty much how the night carried on - great conversations and little spurts of Q&A, interspersed with some great writing exercises. Each night we covered three writing prompts and followed Miss Pamela's writing rules - no qualifying, keep your pen moving,  and do not correct, just go, go, go.

The stuff we wrote was funny, profound, sometimes sad, often times beautiful and most of all it was fun to be sitting amongst a group of like-minded women, bonding through our shared love of writing, and music.

Our group of writers with Miss Pamela

The time flew by, and by the end of the first night Miss Pamela invited everyone to join her at the Cinema Bar to see Dan Janisch perform.

My husband who is always up for a barroom gig was happy to go, and we arrived early. I ordered my usual - a Shirley Temple, and Ryan had a beer. When Miss Pamela arrived we sat at a table in front, and to the side of the stage. Ryan was honored to buy Miss Pamela and her friend each a white wine spritzer.

"How often do you get the chance to buy the most famous groupie a drink?" he later confessed to me on the ride home; and it was certain Miss Pamela still had that certain je ne sais quoi.

One of the bartenders came to the table wiping it down and saying hello to Miss Pamela. Later, what seemed to be a modern day groupie reached her hand out to touch Miss Pamela's. She smiled warmly before slinking back out onto the dance floor and stealing a quick kiss from Dan Janisch between songs. Then she disappeared to the side of the stage and took pictures with her digital camera.

Dan Janisch as pictured on his website

I couldn't help but notice when most people started clapping at the end of a song, Miss Pamela never clapped until the last chord was played.

A few songs later Dan announced he was going to sing a song dedicated to Pamela. And the dutiful music lover, Miss Pamela, got up and danced. I regret I do not remember what song it was, but Ryan said it was one that made him think of the Velvet Underground's "There She Goes."

Lost in the music her body was translating the melody, the words, and the very meaning of the song to the rest of us, quite the same way someone would use their hands to sign a speech in American Sign Language. It was then I realized the term "groupie" really meant music goddess, even music muse. Because here she was decades since her heyday in the arms of Jimmy Page, and here she was still hopelessly in love with the music -many times burned by the musician, but never by the music. The music that kept her brushing off her knees and going to another gig.

 Groupies like Miss Pamela have been discovering the music before the rest of us even realize what hit us. She saw bands like The Doors perform before they were famous, so I felt I should get up and announce, "Watch out world because Dan Janisch could be next!" I went home and purchased his CDs on iTunes because he was that good! And if I had to define him in a sentence I would say he's a little bit country and a little bit rock and roll, with great stage presence, a strong voice, and Michael Hutchence hair. In a second sentence I would say he's the kind of musician who crosses generations in that I know my grandparents, and parents would like him as much as I do.

Miss Pamela's writing workshop was a great experience and worth every penny. She creates a safe and fun writing environment that allows your creativity flow. A lot of ladies return to Miss Pamela's workshops numerous times, in fact two attendees had been before. There's no question I would return. It's a great chance to talk about music and passion, it's an opportunity to meet wonderful people, and to write and share without inhibition.

Posing with Pamela.  She's really as cool as she looks!